Goan film
director Miransha Naik has still not gotten over the excitement of
watching his first feature film premiere on a grand stage at the 41st Hong Kong International
Film Festival (HKIFF). The festival played host
to people from across the globe and Miransha’s realistic portrayal of a village and its
issues seemed to have touched the hearts of the diverse audience.
Originally
from Quepem, Miransha has now made Benaulim
his base. However, with his current schedule, he is living out of his suitcase.
“The experience was wonderful. After receiving great reviews, the film is now
invited for several other film festivals across the world. We will be going to
important film festivals in Europe first, then North America and then back to
India for the Mumbai Academy of the Moving Image (MAMI) Film
Festival. We are concentrating on few but bigger festivals in Europe first,”
says Miransha, a student of film making at Whistling Woods Film Academy.
After his course, Miransha went on to write
for a production house. Through his film banner Thin Air Productions, he has
written and directed two short film, ‘Shezari’ and ‘Ram’. ‘Juze’ is his first
feature film. The 93–minute film stars Rushikesh
Naik, Sudesh Bhise, Barkha Naik, Gauri Kamat and Prashanti Talpankar. Written
and directed by Miransha, the film was a India-France-Netherlands
co-production by Thin Air, Three Rivers, Kepler Films and Cine-Sud Promotion.
Sidharth Yaji is the film’s executive producer while Abhiraj
Rawale is the director of photography; the music of
the film is by Pierre Aviat. “The film would not be complete without the
support of the people of Guirdolim as the village played an important role in
the film over the 40–day shoot. It was like a dream shooting there.
The story is based on true events. I had my characters in
mind and built my story around my observations,” explains Miransha.
The film
was shot in Goa and a rough cut was presented at the Film Bazaar as Miransha
was looking at an opportunity to find producers. “It was a fantastic experience
working with the producers from France and Netherlands. France is an artistic country and the team from there worked on the film even on weekends. The post production for the film was completed in
Europe and the sound itself took nearly three months. I have two more scripts
ready and I hope to work on future projects with the same team,” he adds.
The film is based
around exploited migrant workers and their abusive slumlord, Juze. Though the
film is in Konkani with a few lines in Hindi, the film made an impact on the
audience in Hong Kong. “As I was present for the first screening of the film, I kept wondering whether they will
get the culture of the film. Surprisingly, they understood
the film and waited for the Q & A sessions after both the screenings. That’s when I realised that the language doesn’t matter. As a Goan, I love Konkani, but seeing it on a large screen, being listened to by people from across the world, really made me proud,”
concludes the young director.
